Deuteronomy 6:14 (DBY)

Passage

Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that are round about you;

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 6:12 [then] beware lest thou forget Jehovah who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Deuteronomy 6:13 Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.

Deuteronomy 6:14 Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples that are round about you;

Deuteronomy 6:15 for Jehovah thy God is a jealous God in thy midst; lest the anger of Jehovah thy God be kindled against thee, and he destroy thee from the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 6:16 Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "after", "other", "gods", "peoples", and "round". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "after", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God and..." into verse 15's "for Jehovah thy God is a jealous...", so "shall" and "after" belong inside that flow. In Deuteronomy context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "after" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.